Capture Power welcomes FEED contract award

Trade News

Guildford/Munich 9 December 2013 - Capture Power Limited, the consortium of Alstom, Drax and BOC, today welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that it has been awarded a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract for its planned, state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project – the White Rose CCS Project. The FEED contract also includes the planned development of a carbon dioxide (CO2) transportation and storage solution – the Yorkshire Humber CCS Trunkline – to be undertaken by National Grid Carbon Limited.

The award of the contract marks a major next step in the UK CCS Commercialisation Programme. The FEED study is a two year programme of detailed engineering, planning and financial work to finalise and de-risk all aspects of the proposal ahead of taking the final investment decision, and proceeding thereafter to financial close and the commencement of construction. During FEED, Capture Power, together with National Grid Carbon, will continue to work with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) with a view to concluding a Project Contract for the construction and operation of the full chain CCS project.

Commenting on the announcement, Leigh Hackett, General Manager, Capture Power, said: “We are delighted that our project has been awarded a FEED contract under the CCS Commercialisation Programme. The White Rose CCS Project has great potential to demonstrate oxyfuel combustion CCS technology which will benefit other projects in the UK and overseas. It also highlights the strategic strength of the Yorkshire and Humber region as a hub for CCS, driving the formation of a cluster for CO2 transportation and storage.”

Peter Boreham, National Grid’s Director of European Business Development, said: “We are pleased with the announcement of funding from DECC today and to be part of the White Rose CCS Project. For National Grid Carbon, this means we can continue to move forward with the development of a Humber CCS cluster that could transport carbon dioxide from the Yorkshire and Humberside area to offshore storage.”

Energy Secretary, Edward Davey said: “The White Rose project, with National Grid’s CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, really offers the potential to kick start CCS in the region, creating up to 2,000 green jobs. Yorkshire is ideally suited to the development of CCS with lots of large emitters and significant storage space offshore. It’s great to be able to take it to the next stage with funding for the study.”

Located on land adjacent to the existing Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, the proposed 426MW (gross) CCS power plant will burn coal with the added ability to co-fire sustainable biomass and meet the equivalent power needs of over 630,000 homes. Fully equipped with CCS technology from the outset, 90% of all the CO2 produced by the plant will be captured and transported by pipeline for permanent storage deep beneath the North Sea seabed.

Alstom, Drax and BOC are the project co-developers. The three partners have formed a company called Capture Power Limited that would be responsible for the development, implementation and operation of the proposed new plant. As a part of this cooperation, Alstom would have responsibility for construction and Drax for operation and maintenance of the power plant including the CO2 capture facilities. BOC would have responsibility for construction, and operation and maintenance of the air separation unit that provides oxygen for the operation of the oxyfuel combustion capture plant.

In an associated project National Grid Carbon would construct and operate a large capacity CO2 transportation pipeline and permanent undersea storage facilities in the North Sea.

In addition to participating in the UK CCS funding competition, and progressing its ongoing discussions with the commercial funding community, the project is also concurrently seeking funding from the European NER 300 programme and will be dependent on a successful outcome of these funding processes as well as a successful outcome of negotiations with the Government to establish appropriate market mechanisms to incentivise low-carbon technologies and provide support to the project.

At a national level the White Rose CCS Project will contribute to a range of potential benefits:

Generating enough low-carbon electricity to supply the energy needs of the equivalent of over 630,000 households.

Acting as an anchor project for the development of the Yorkshire Humber CCS Trunkline, a CO2 transportation and storage network, in the UK’s most energy intensive region thereby facilitating decarbonisation and attracting new investment.

Local benefits of the proposal include:

An expected average of 1,000 new construction jobs over the three-year plant development period at the Drax site. In addition, the proposed Yorkshire Humber CCS Trunkline is expected to create 954 construction jobs.

At least 60 operational jobs at the new plant as well as additional indirect supply and maintenance posts. In addition, the proposed Yorkshire Humber CCS Trunkline is expected to create 37 operational jobs.

Increased turnover for local businesses during the construction and operational periods.

About BOC

BOC is a member of The Linde Group. An industrial, medical and special gases provider, the company supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment and is pioneering healthcare innovations and clean energy technologies including carbon capture and storage. For more than a century the company's gases and expertise have contributed to advances in many areas of everyday life, and industries including steelmaking, refining, chemical processing, environmental protection, wastewater treatment, welding and cutting, food processing and distribution, glass production, electronics and health care. For more information visit: www.BOConline.co.uk

About The Linde Group

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 63,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2012 financial year, Linde generated revenue of EUR 15.280 bn. The strategy of the Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The company is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

Under the ”Clean Technology by Linde“ label, the company offers a wide range of products and technologies that help to render renewable energy sources financially viable, and significantly slow down the depletion of fossil resources or reduce the level of CO2 emitted. This ranges from specialty gases for solar module manufacturing, industrial-scale CO2 separation and application technologies to alternative fuels and energy carriers such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen.